Review & Photography by Sian Connolly for MPM
Good evening metal heads, I have a question… Does anybody know what tonight is? Because if you don’t, get out from under that rock; the Pain Remains tour is here.
Sold out, if I might add). If you’re anything like me and have been waiting for the magnificent metal monsters we are lucky to call Lorna Shore to play some pretty badass gigs again, well what you ask for is exactly what you get.
Tonight, here in Leeds, the four-bill lineup tears the academy down with no remorse. Now if you wanna know about broken bones and brutal mosh pits, definitely carry on reading.
First up we have Dutch deathcore royalty, Distant. Now the stage goes dark and an intro song starts echoing around the venue.
It’s menacing, it’s loud, it’s…. the SpongeBob SquarePants theme tune. Oh, how to set off the metal heads, the crowd were up and moshing already… what is wrong with us, our inner kids ey? Well, that kicked off the set which indeed went exactly how you can imagine, full destruction from Distant – insane.
These guys proved that they deserved to be on this tour. Lead singer Alan Grnja works that stage like no other. For an opener, this is incredible to see.
The crowd, and I, were captivated from the start. Check these guys out ASAP, if they can get a mosh pit and crowd surfers within the first 5 minutes of being on stage, they’re worth your time.
Up next are the band I’ve been waiting for, if you haven’t heard of these guys, you are definitely doing something wrong. The Mancunian death metal monsters Ingested are here to steal the show. Now this, this is a performance like no other.
Frontman Jason Evans is an absolute powerhouse on stage; raw energy, visceral vocals, managing growls… what more could you ask for? Every now and then you can see him smiling to himself as he looks out onto the sea of bodies flying in all directions.
As they say in Yorkshire, he looked dead chuffed. The band’s precision is on point, with each member
playing a key role in creating metal madness. I could sit and watch these guys all day and clearly so could the crowd.
They were going crazy in that pit, moshing it out like there’s no tomorrow. A proper good set from some proper good lads.
As they say, third times the charm and it certainly was for Rivers of Nihil. Bringing a well-needed dose of death tech metal to the scene, these guys did not disappoint.
This was the type of band you just stood there watching in awe. I mean, the skill it takes to create such a complex performance is insane. I certainly couldn’t play a six-string bass and sing and mosh and head bang all at the same time, could you? Well, lead vocalist/bassist Adam Biggs absolutely can.
It’s just simply masterful. After recently releasing their newest single, Hellbirds, everyone was clearly gasping to see it played live and it went hard. By now, the o2 academy was packed to the brim and I’m talking more packed than a tin of sardines.
However, these sardines were sweaty, messy and ready to mosh their souls away to the final band of the night.
As the lights go dark and goosebumps hit my arms, the foreboding feeling of chaos sets in. It’s time for deathcore giants Lorna Shore to rip this place apart.
Diving straight into Welcome Back, O’ Sleeping Dreamer, the breakdowns hit like a tonne of bricks.
Frontman, Will Ramos unleashes hellfire (pun intended) into the crowd, this man is truly relentless.
The vocals, I mean, if you know Will, you know what I mean. This man’s talent is indescribable; simply out of this world. I can’t say I understand every word that comes out of his mouth (or should I say sound) but this guy is on another level.
The fans are going feral; a seething mass of bodies all smashing into each other. The wave of crowd surfers was completely and utterly non-stop and don’t even get me started on the pits.
Jesus, it was like something out of a horror film. Luckily I was stood on the sidelines – not like I had much of a choice, the room was bursting at the seams.
A fan favourite was up shortly after; Sun//Eater sent everyone nuts. A Lorna Shore gig is like a firework display for the ears. It’s euphoric, really. Seeing all these different people come together to just… be themselves, is something I feel very grateful to witness.
I mean who wouldn’t want a metaphoric slap in the face by grazing guitar riffs and brutal breakdowns? Oh, and let’s not forget Will’s most iconic sound…. the signature pig snarl.
Oh my god. I have waited yonks to hear this live and by god was it mind-blowing. Closing the set (or so we thought), with To the Hellfire, I can honestly say that the ground was shaking.
Two and a half thousand metal heads moshed in unison as Mr Ramos himself ended the absolute banger of a song with the snarl. Side note; it’s worth seeing Lorna live, just for that.
As the stage goes black we’re left thinking, is this the end? Nope. Lorna Shore? More like Lorna “give me a bloody encore” and they certainly did. Shutting down the night with the Pain Remains trilogy, not one person left here tonight without some pretty decent sweat stains in their black band tees and some unforgettable memories.
